Bad Moon Blues
by SkinwalkerSkiddo
Summary: Werewolf AU. Daryl is feral and Rick's sanity is in peril. Rick/Daryl
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: Not entirely sure where this is going just yet and it may end up just being little ficlets but there will be some smut very soon so you have that to look forward too, haha._

_I've always liked the idea of werewolves that aren't outrageously super human. You won't see these guys leaping tall buildings in a single bound. And in this little world they can heal from some pretty horrific injuries that would certainly kill a human but enough damage from plan old bullets could take one out. Silver would definitely do the job faster. And then of course there are walker bites to consider so we'll see how that goes..._

_Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! PS If you have any ideas for this fic or any unrelated Rick/Daryl prompts hit me up on tumblr (I'm skinwalkerskiddo there too)._

_—_

Michonne was the first werewolf Daryl had encountered since they lost Merle in Atlanta.

She had come to them, carrying a sword and a basket of baby formula, half-dead from a festering gunshot wound in her leg and telling of Glenn and Maggie's abduction.

Her eyes flashed with fury when she caught Daryl's scent and her lips curled back to bare white teeth at him with a loud growl. Rick slammed his open palm against the bench she was half-collapsed on and told her to cut it out before he found a muzzle.

Daryl kept a close eye on her. She was more of a lone wolf than he had ever been, dark and silent and scowling, and he couldn't get a clear read on her. But she smelled like death, icy and sharp.

She could be very bad news but for now she was mostly subdued by her injury and exhaustion so he wasn't too worried about her. Not while they needed her to help them track down Glenn and Maggie.

Rick rallied his troops and they collected their weapons and a few supplies. He caught Daryl's eye as they finished loading the trunk of the car and Daryl gave their leader a swift nod.

_I got you're back._

With nightfall, under the cover of a New Moon black sky, they came to the town of Woodbury. Michonne led them over an unguarded wall and they followed the sound of gunshots down into honest to God _dungeons_ where they found Glenn and Maggie.

That's when Daryl had smelled _him_.

It had been so faint at first but it hit him like a brick wall and as he got an arm around Maggie to shove her on ahead through the dark hallways he looked back to search the clouds of smoke behind them.

Rick was grabbing his wrist and pulling him back with the others.

He felt a bullet flash passed his temple (and _fuck_ did that ever trigger some unpleasant memories) and gave in to following after his pack, still trying to pick that familiar scent out of the air full of gunpowder and smoke.

They broke into a store, took stock of their situation, and realized they had lost Michonne somewhere along the way.

While Rick swore and snarled at the betrayal Glenn told Daryl where his bloody face and busted ribs came from. Who they came from.

"It's Merle. He's _pack_! I gotta see him! M-maybe I can talk to him, work something out with this Governor—"

Rick's fingers dug into his nape to pull him close and the sensation made Daryl's heart and brain damn near shut down.

No one touched a werewolf's neck.

Not unless they planned to try and rip it open.

Or.

Unless they were bonded.

Only _mates_ touched each other like that.

Rick knew that. He fucking _knew_ it, he had to after years of being a cop. Hell, he'd told Daryl about some of the calls he gone out on about werewolves picking fights over territory and mates or when they had just gone and gotten themselves moon drunk and started tearing shit apart.

Cops were trained early on that you kept your hands far away from a werewolf's throat if you had any interest in keeping your fingers.

So the man damn well knew what he was doing but Daryl just couldn't figure out _why_.

Rick stared him down, pale eyes bright and focused on nothing but him in this unsteady calm before the storm.

He wanted to snarl, bare his teeth and jerk away but he couldn't because it was _Rick_.

So instead, he held that gaze. Not in a challenge but in need of an affirmation, of something to ground him. Daryl had become an alpha in this new world but Rick was still his equal, as equal as any human could ever be.

"We need you, Daryl. Are you with us?"

He was reeling. The knowledge that his brother was alive and _here_ was making his guts churn, the stink of fear pouring off Glenn and Maggie and Oscar was clouding his senses, and Rick's fucking fingers were _still touching his goddamn neck._

His stomach dropped when he realized just how badly he wanted to lean into that touch.

"I need you."

Daryl swallowed against the knot in his throat and nodded.

And then they were off, diving head first into a night of fire that would ignite weeks filled with death and chaos.

Hours would pass before the heat of Rick's touch finally faded from Daryl's skin.


	2. Chapter 2

The fight to the death arena match for the Governor was nothing compared to the bloody brawl Daryl and Merle got into at the prison.

The night after they got back was clear and warm with a full moon on the way.

Daryl was sitting on top of one of the picnic tables in the empty basketball court waiting for it.

Werewolves could shift at will. It took practice and most didn't master it until they neared adulthood but something about the pull of the full moon made the transformation a requirement for all werewolves on nights when it filled the sky. A few studies had been done on the science behind it (back when people did such things instead of trying to eat each other's faces off) and countless theories abounded but no one really knew why. It was just the way things were and had been since the days lycanthropes hunted down mankind in their dark caves.

Daryl kicked his boots off and stripped down to his pants to feel the cool breeze on his too hot skin. His bare toes drummed on the rough wood plank seat while he smoked a cigarette and waited for the moon to come up past the treeline.

Rick had gone past a few minutes earlier to take watch in the main guard tower. Daryl had felt the weight of his gaze like a physical thing.

He cursed under his breath and started on his third cigarette of the evening. Damn shame to waste them but he needed the distraction.

Hershel told Daryl why Rick had been outside the fence when he and Merle came back the previous day. Seeing things…Christ, poor bastard was long past his breaking point.

And it made Daryl feel like shit because he couldn't stop thinking about that night in Woodbury. He could still feel Rick's heat, those calloused fingers on his skin. Rick probably hadn't even been aware of what he had been doing other than just making sure Daryl was with him, had his back.

He always did. He always would.

But Rick deserved better than a friend who had suddenly realized he would like nothing better than to _devour_ him.

With a mountain of shit piling up around them, in the midst of a war threatening to erupt, dumbass Daryl Dixon realized he was in love with his best friend. His grieving widower, on the edge of a mental breakdown, best friend.

Oh but if he was being perfectly honest with himself this wasn't a recent revelation. It had been building for months but it was only now that he realized just how helplessly hopeless he really was.

Daryl was _so_ fucked.

He groaned and pressed the palms of his hands hard against his eye sockets.

A handful of the walkers out in the yard had taken notice of him and were clawing and biting at the fence, grinding their rotting faces into the hard wire.

He had been looking forward to rolling in the grass of that lush field tonight. Sink his claws into the soft earth and just run and run and run until he got whatever this was out of his system and cleared his head. But then the Governor and his men drove a cube truck full of walkers through the gate.

Asshole.

The door to C-Block opened behind him with a sharp shriek of rusty metal.

He hadn't been around Merle in months but Daryl knew it was him without looking or scenting the air. Very few had a gait like Merle's bravado-filled swagger.

But then his brother stopped a few feet behind him and stood in silence.

Looking at the scars on Daryl's bare back.

Their daddy had been every stereotype of white trash, deep south feral lycanthrope rolled into one ill-tempered brute of a man. He spent his every waking moment drunk or drugged into a stupor (wolfsbane was worse than heroin for a werewolf and he had been hooked on the foul-smelling stuff), fucking whatever whore he could afford or sweet talk that week, or beating the absolute shit out of Merle and later, after he left, Daryl.

Rick hadn't stared. He'd seen them before, back at Herschel's farm but even then he hadn't looked too long, hadn't questioned Daryl about them later, never treated him like a broken thing as so many others had before. There had never been any watery pity in his eyes and Daryl had always been silently grateful for that.

Daryl stayed still and let his brother look for a few moments longer before breaking the silence.

"Talked them into letting you out, huh?" He teased without turning around to look at the older man. Daryl had been the one to convince Rick to unlock the cell and promised to keep an eye on his brother tonight.

His words seemed to snap Merle out of his thoughts. He laughed gruffly and closed the distance between them to slap Daryl's shoulder.

"Yeah. Seems they weren't too keen on having a caged wolf in there with 'em. Afraid it'd give the little ones nightmares I 'spect." He smirked and set to work stripping off his shirts and belt. He left his jeans and boots on for the moment.

Merle helped himself to the crumpled pack of cigarettes in Daryl's abandoned shirt pocket and lit one up before flopping onto the tabletop beside Daryl. They sat side by side in silence, breathing out long, slow lungfuls of smoke and watching the crowd of walkers in the yard mill about.

Merle had removed the prosthetic contraption from his maimed arm and Daryl got his first look at the damage.

Werewolves could heal from a multitude of horrific injuries, both men were living proof of that after lifetimes of abuse. But even a werewolf couldn't grow back a missing limb.

His arm ended right where the knot of delicate wrist bones and tendons should have begun. In their place was a gruesome mess of angry white and red scar tissue. The flesh covering the end of the stump was shiny and stretched tight like taffy from where Merle had used a stovetop burner to cauterize the wound.

There were several jagged white scars crisscrossing his flesh just above the stump and Daryl's chest ached when he realized they had been false starts to the amputation.

Merle let him look for a while before speaking. "It's a real bitch being a three-legged werewolf. But I tell ya what, baby brother, I can _still_ beat your sorry ass into the dust any day."

Daryl's lips twitched in an aborted smile. "Yeah, we'll see how that goes."

They would both shift soon. Daryl's bones ached with a longing to stretch and reshape themselves but for now he enjoyed this rare peaceful moment with his brother.

Who was apparently feeling the moon's fire in his blood tonight, same as Daryl but was more keen to act on it.

"Nothing but a flimsy chain length fence between us and a world full'a biters. Can't say as I see whatever it is _you_ see in this place."

"It's home. My pack's here."

Merle bristled and Daryl watched his jaws clench. Both of their tempers were about to get the better of them but Daryl wasn't ready to stop pushing just yet.

"They're good people, man. You think that bunch of murderers and rapists back there was worth calling _pack?_"

"Nah. But they was a hell of a lot more desirable than tryin'a make it on my own." He gave Daryl a dark look.

Daryl recognized the bait dangling in front of him for what it was but he was in a bad mood and latched on to it anyway.

"You wouldn't'a been on your own if you had kept your damn mouth shut and not been such a dick back in Atlanta. C'mon Merle, let it go. We got a good thing here. Good people."

Merle was a cobra, muscles coiling for a strike.

But then he stilled and his lips pulled back to bare sharp, crooked teeth in a cruel smile.

"Mmm. So my sweet little Dar'leena, how long you been swooning over Officer Friendly?"

Daryl's stomach dropped.

"Shut up, Merle. Ain't like that."

"Come on now, pup. You never was any good at lying. And you know you can't tell me I'm smelling roses when what you're really shovelin' my way is a pile of horseshit. "

With a bitter laugh Merle flicked the butt of his burnt out cigarette at Daryl's bare feet. A low growl rumbled in Daryl's chest and Merle answered it by baring his teeth again, this time with a snarl.

"I said it ain't like that, Merle. Rick's a good man so don't you go and try to start shit."

"I love ya, baby brother, but you're a little bitch, you know it? Gettin' down on your belly and raising your tail for that fuckin' pig? You already forget what he did to me?"

Daryl cursed and turned to face the older man. "Even if I _was_ sucking his dick every night of the week it still wouldn't be any of your damn business."

Merle broke Daryl's nose with a blow so hard and fast that it knocked him off balance and he hit the pavement with a pained groan. Hot blood poured down his mouth and chin.

While Daryl reeled from the blow his brother finished disrobing and began to shift as the bright full moon peeked up over the treeline.

Daryl clenched his sharpening teeth together to keep from crying out at the agony of the broken bones in his snout grinding together as he too began to change.

After only a few moments of shifting bone and muscles, two massive wolves stood in place of the men that had previously occupied the basketball court. Both had brown coats tipped with back and silver (the largest one had quite a bit more silver than the other one, whose snout was bloody) and ill-concealed fury in their bright eyes.

The siblings proceeded to tear the shit out of each other with long white fangs and sharp black claws.

In the past, Merle had always kicked his ass in these scuffles but Daryl was tired of having to roll over and bare his belly to the older male.

Their slobbering barks and vicious snarls echoed off the concrete walls and the scent of spilled, coppery blood grew heavy in the air, stirring the walkers outside the fence into a frenzy.

Distantly Daryl registered someone shouting (_human pack Rick not threat fight now_) but he was gaining the upperhand over Merle and he wasn't about to let that go.

Muscles tensing under his silvery fur, Merle plowed into Daryl and tried push him down to the ground but with a rolling twist and a fast swipe of a massive paw Daryl knocked his brother's feet out from under him.

He couldn't stop his thick dark tail from wagging as he pinned Merle down on his back.

The other male, bulkier body tense and obviously furious about this turn of events, still acknowledged the victor and leaned up just enough to lick at the blood coating Daryl's muzzle in submission.

A pair of dark amber eyes watching them from the shadows caught Daryl's attention. Michonne. He knew that scent but she shouldn't be here. She wasn't _pack_.

Hackles rising, he bared his bloody teeth in a warning growl. But the sleek black wolf still crept closer, head held high in dominance as she neared the two males.

And then Daryl realized what she was up to.

Michonne had a history with Merle. And she was still out for his blood.

Daryl's distraction was a careless opening for Merle to attack and his teeth sank into Daryl's foreleg. He howled and raked his claws across his brother's belly just as Michonne plowed into the both of them, her teeth snapping at Merle and opening up a deep wound on his flank that surprised a sharp yelp out of him.

An explosion of heat and sparks and too bright red flames suddenly erupted in the tangled midst of them. They scattered as Rick descended from the guard tower and scooped up the flare he had thrown. He waved it at them wildly, gesturing at the chain length fence and all of the corpses piling against it.

"Knock it the hell off before you make them _tear down the fucking fence!_"

He trotted towards the fence and flung the flare far out into the field, giving the walkers something new to go after.

While his back was turned Merle crouched low and crept up behind Rick. Daryl and Michonne both started to go after him but Rick was quick to spin around and he aimed his AK at the massive, bloodied wolf. His finger was steady on the trigger.

"Back off, Merle."

Daryl couldn't take his eyes off Rick.

Even a wolf can appreciate beauty and right then, Rick was fucking _gorgeous_.

His eyes shone bright and fierce in the pale light of the moon and he was advancing on Merle now, making the wolf take a few steps backward to avoid a face full of the assault rifle's barrel.

Daryl had never been around a human that didn't stink of fear while anywhere near a werewolf on a full moon. But over the musk of two other wolves, a field full of corpses, and the smoke and phosphorous of the flare all he could smell was alpha male confidence and it was absolutely mouth-watering.

The wolf part of Daryl's mind was overtaken with an all-consuming possessive _need_.

And the human part was in complete agreement.

Daryl was oh so _very_ fucked.

Daryl woke around ten the next morning with the fuzzy hangover that always accompanied a full moon shift. He ached from head to toe from a plethora of bites, claw marks, and a half-healed broken nose. They would all be healed in a few more hours but damn was he sore right now.

Not quite ready to open his eyes yet he groaned and buried his head under his musty pillow.

The rest of their night had been spent in the back of the exercise yard—out of sight of the fence—where they licked their wounds and got into smaller tussles over a pile of bones and offal from a deer Daryl had shot that morning.

Daryl formed an unsteady truce with Michonne but Merle was hot-headed bastard to both of them until dawn, biting and growling viciously any time either Daryl or Michonne strayed too close to the corner of the yard he'd staked a claim on.

Someone cleared their throat softly and Daryl snapped his eyes open to see Rick standing in the doorway of his cell. He had Judith tucked in the crook of one arm and a tray with two plates of food in his free hand.

Rick nodded to the plates. "Figured you'd be starving. Alright if I, uh, _we_ join ya?"

"Yeah, yeah, just gimme a sec." Suddenly painfully aware of just how filthy and naked he was Daryl pulled on his poncho and made sure it and the blanket were covering all the important bits.

Once given the all clear Rick handed him a plate and took a seat in an old office chair beside the bunk. They ate in silence for a while, Rick tempting Judith with tiny bites of oatmeal and Daryl watching them fondly through stolen glances.

Rick had dark circles under his eyes and looked too pale but he seemed more peaceful than Daryl had seen him in ages.

After a while, Rick met his gaze.

"How's that?" He asked, nodding at Daryl's battered nose.

"s'fine. Sorry about all that last night."

Rick shrugged and winced when Judith pinched at his arm hair with chubby exploring fingers. He decided it best not to mention that he had heard the exchange between Daryl and Merle leading up to that blow.

"Forget about it. I know how he is and ya throw Michonne into the mix and you're bound to get an explosion."

Daryl smirked and nodded. They were quiet a while longer before he spoke again, watching Rick from under too long dark hair.

"You good, Rick?"

Rick heaved a long, heavy sigh. He leaned down and kissed the crown of Judith's head before nodding.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I am. And she is too, thanks to you."

Daryl flushed and cleared his throat. "Like I said man, s'what we do."

Rick leaned forward just enough to pat Daryl's leg through the blankets. After a parting squeeze just above his knee that made Daryl's stomach flip Rick's chair groaned as he settled back to finish his late breakfast. Daryl followed his example and picked at the remaining scraps of venison on his plate (raw he noted with a pleased smile; he'd have to remember to thank Carol) with his fingers before popping them into his mouth.

"Anyway, I'm surprised your brother didn't wake you up already. He's been ranting and raving all morning." Rick said between mouthfuls.

He acted like he was trying his damnedest not to smile about something.

"That's Merle for ya." Daryl felt his chest swell with pride at the memory of winning (even briefly) a fight with his brother. First time he'd ever managed that victory and it was certainly worth having to deal with an even more crotchety-than-normal Merle.

"Yeah well he's in an even _better_ mood than usual."

Daryl raised an eyebrow and Rick finally broke down and grinned, still trying his hardest not to laugh.

"When ya'll were fighting last night Michonne bit him on the ass and he _still_ can't sit down."

Daryl barked out a laugh, nearly choking on his food in the process and both men tried their best to quiet their snickering laughter.

They weren't very successful.

_ Author's Note: I doubt if it's very noticeable but in my mind at least I've stretched out season three a bit. So Rick's had a little more time to get his feet back under him again, poor dude._

_Getting closer to the smut! I'll try to have the next chapter up before Sunday. Hope you enjoyed it and thank you all so much for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Notes: And here comes that explicit rating! Enjoy!_

—

"Christ Daryl, you're like sitting next to a furnace."

He snorted and leaned closer to tease. "High metabolism."

His playfulness backfired and Rick leaned in to rest his shoulder against Daryl's. The night air was surprisingly warm for this time of year but there was still a chilly nip to the breeze and apparently Rick was not planning on letting any extra heat go to waste.

"S'nice."

Rick was trashed. Daryl could smell the alcohol on his breath—in his _blood_—and if he would just stop hogging the damn bottle then Daryl could get a little closer to that same care-free stupor.

It was sloppy and irresponsible to get shit-faced in this world. But Glenn and Michonne were on watch and they didn't have any supply runs planned for the next day. They had enough food and other necessities to last a little while, Carl was curled up with a new stack of comic books, and Carol called dibs on Lil' Asskicker for the night.

So fuck it all, they had earned this little break.

They were partaking of a nice cache of booze that they had found back in Woodbury when they finished clearing it out a couple of months ago. And this was the _real_ good stuff, pulled right from the Governor's own personal stash.

Daryl and Michonne had taken great delight in shifting and absolutely destroying the madman's apartment on their final supply run to Woodbury. Claws and teeth shredded useless journals and clothing and furniture but then Daryl had sniffed out the alcohol tucked away behind a false backing inside a tall antique oak cabinet and he hadn't been too keen on letting that go to waste.

He took a slow swallow, enjoying the warmth of the amber liquid as it settled in his belly.

Only thing that would have tasted better would have been a mouthful of that eyepatch-wearing bastard's blood as he ripped his throat out. But try as he and Michonne might, they hadn't been able to pick up his trail.

Michonne hadn't given up yet and Daryl was still pushed on by the duty he felt to Andrea, to _his brother_, to find that asshole and gut him.

But Daryl was beginning to grow weary of chasing ghosts.

As badly as he ached for revenge he was beginning to feel pulled more to the prison than towards any sort of retribution. He had a duty here, to these people. To his pack.

To Rick.

He tipped his head far back to take another long pull on the bottle of whiskey and Rick snickered too loudly.

"Hey you're supposed to savor that. S'old or something."

Daryl drained a good third of the bottle before setting it back down and knocking aside the empty bottles they had already demolished (and by they he meant him; he _did_ have a high metabolism after all). He belched and smirked smugly as the sound echoed off the walls around them.

"I am."

Rick actually fucking giggled and leaned right in so they were pressed tight from shoulder to thigh, their feet dangling off the edge of the rooftop.

Daryl fidgeted uncomfortably at the contact but Rick wouldn't move and hell, it did feel kinda nice. Wasn't like it was the first time they had sat like this either. Many was the night last winter that saw them staying up until dawn and keeping watch while the others slept.

Those were some of Daryl's only fond memories from the winter they spent on the road.

But it was a different night that Daryl couldn't stop thinking about these days. That first night they snuck into Woodbury kept drifting through his mind.

Christ it was ridiculous and he was _obsessing_ but he could still feel Rick's fingers on the nape of his neck. The heat of them, his scent so close.

He took another swig of the bottle and dug around his pocket until he found his smokes and some matches.

Rick groaned and slid off Daryl's shoulder to sprawl out on his back across the rooftop beside him.

"How can you stand those? Especially with that 'superhuman' nose of yours?" He really did air quotations and the worst thing about that was how damn endearing Daryl found it.

Daryl shrugged and took a long drag on the half crumpled cigarette. "Grew up around 'em, started stealing 'em from Merle and our daddy when I was nine. Just a habit I guess."

"_Bad_ habit."

"Never heard of no werewolf getting cancer. 'Sides, sort of the least of our worries around here."

He rumbled in reluctant agreement and Daryl watched him out of the corner of his eye as Rick scooped up the bottle and took another swallow of the whiskey. After that he stretched out on the rooftop again, pillowing his head on one arm while draping his fingers loosely around the neck of the bottle and staring thoughtfully up at the sky above them.

Daryl was doing his best to not stare at the few inches of exposed skin over Rick's hip bone where his shirt had ridden up.

"Think things are gonna work out alright with these new folks? All of us here under one roof, more or less?"

Daryl sighed and eased himself down so he was stretched out on his back next to Rick. He wished they'd brought more than an old wool blanket to lay on top of the rough concrete of the rooftop. "So far so good."

"How's things with Michonne?"

Arching an eyebrow, Daryl rolled his head so he could look at Rick. Who it seemed was avoiding his gaze and staring up at the moonless night sky above them.

"Fine. She likes it here."

Daryl watched Rick as he wrapped his chapped lips around the mouth of the bottle again, sitting up just enough to drink without choking. He tipped his head back, exposing his throat which flexed as he swallowed, and Daryl didn't even try to pull his gaze away from that sight.

"You two going out to hunt again soon?"

Daryl shrugged. "Not sure yet. We ain't picked up a hint of a scent in weeks so we've just been chasing our tails out there. She'll probably go out again in a day or two but I was thinkin' I might stick around for a while."

Rick licked his lips and nodded. He was quiet for a few moments before speaking again.

"I've watched you two, ya know. Out in the yard after everyone's gone to sleep a lot'a nights, chasin' each other around like a couple of overgrown puppies."

Daryl scrunched his nose up at the comparison—like hell he was going to miss out on the opportunity to rough house with someone his own size after all—but his stomach did a strange little flippity thing when Rick's scent changed ever so slightly.

It wasn't the first time he'd noticed this particular scent on him but for once he had time and was close enough to investigate it.

Jealousy. Smelled like green apples and summer storms and something else and for some reason it made heat curl low in his belly.

Rick was possessive of him. Hell he knew that, he was pretty damn possessive and maybe just a touch over-protective of the other man too but it wasn't just that. Daryl was still missing something.

His nostrils flared as he sucked in a deep breath and _there_, that's it.

Heat. Male. Sexneedwant_mine._

_Lust_.

Rick wanted him.

"So I just figured you two'd, ya know, become mates or whatever."

"That what you thought, huh?" He turned over so he was laying on his side, facing Rick and breathing him in, trying to calm the frantic pounding of his own pulse as he reeled from the wall of pheromones he had just plowed face first into.

"Pretty damn obvious. I ain't blind, Daryl."

Daryl licked his lips. His belly full of far too much good whiskey was giving him false courage and he knew it but he was still drunk enough to keep pushing.

"Yeah you are."

And now that he had a lungful of the lust coming off Rick his blood was growing hot. Oh Christ, how many nights had he fucked up into his own fist while biting Rick's name into his arm to keep quiet as he came. That ache, that _need_ was bone deep but he never expected anything to ever come of it.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Michonne ain't looking for a mate, Rick."

Rick's head was slow and fuzzy but once that sank in his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak only to have Daryl cut him off.

He had taken the plunge, now to keep swimming.

"And I ain't either."

Rick adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed roughly and Daryl's chest ached at the look of despair that darkened his features.

The bravado born of alcohol suddenly left him and he was feeling glaringly sober. And a little sick to his stomach at just what he was about to say next. Fuck, he was doing this all wrong.

"Well, uh, good. That's good to know. Last thing we need around here is two werewolves going into heat."

Daryl watched the other man, nervous and unsure of how to proceed but drawn to Rick's heat and the temptation to see where this all might lead.

"Thing is, I ain't looking because I already found one. If he'll have me."

Silence. Then—

"What?"

Shit, shit, shit. He'd read it wrong, fucked it up, oh God he was _too-drunk-not-drunk-enough_ for this.

And then Rick leaned up, reached out and warm calloused fingers were on Daryl's neck again, just like that night back in Woodbury. Only this was better. This was _right_ and it made the heat in Daryl's belly spread out through his limbs like sinking into a hot bath.

Rick's thumb stroked against his adam's apple and Daryl swallowed reflexively.

"C'mere."

Daryl shifted closer, shuddering at the sound of Rick's heartbeat so near, but making no further move before catching Rick's gaze.

"You sure about this?"

"I know we're both drunk but I ain't gonna regret nothing in the morning, Daryl. Been wanting this for too long to have any regrets."

Daryl nodded but still hesitated. Christ he'd been wanting this for so long and here he was trying to throw out road blocks. But this was Rick. He had always been honest with the man and that wasn't about to change.

"I can't—werewolves mate for life, Rick. This can't be just about a fuck."

A heartbreakingly tender smile curved the other man's lips and he leaned forward to press his forehead against Daryl's.

"I know."

He shuddered when Rick pressed his thumb against the thudding pulse in his carotid.

"Now _comehere_."

Daryl gave in.

Their first kiss was embarrassingly sloppy but what they lacked in sober coordination they more than made up for in enthusiasm.

Daryl pushed his tongue into Rick's mouth to taste and Rick just opened wider for him.

They damn near _devoured_ each other.

Rick clawed his fingers up under Daryl's poncho to yank it over his head (it got stuck and they both just sat there and laughed for a minute) and shoved his leather vest down off his shoulders. Daryl sleeveless button up was all that remained and Rick damn near ripped it off of him.

Daryl hissed at the cold fingers on his too hot skin.

Rick snickered and nipped at the scruff on his chin, muttering a breathy _sorry_ and sounding anything but.

Rick chanted his name while Daryl began yanking at the buttons of his shirt. Once he got them all open he didn't give the other man a chance to lean up and shuck it off his arms, but instead he pushed him back down to lay flat while he sucked hard, biting kisses into Rick's chest.

His nostrils were full of Rick and their combined arousal and all he could think was _mine_ and _more_.

He pressed his nose against Rick's armpit, inhaling his stronger scent there and groaning obscenely at just how good Rick's natural musk smelled.

Christ that was a whole 'nother kind of intoxication.

He bit at Rick's bared deltoid and then soothed at the red mark with a lapping tongue and soft kisses that trailed down to the small fold of skin where arm met chest. In a moment of playfulness he wriggled his tongue into that crease and grinned at Rick's surprised yelp of laughter.

"Guess I smell good?" Rick snickered.

Daryl growled and ducked his head to suck at a nipple. "_Fuckyes_."

Rick groaned too loudly under him, grinding his hips up against Daryl's and arching his neck back to bare his throat.

A groan of his own that was definitely not in actuality a breathless, desperate _whine_ slipped past Daryl's lips at the sight.

Daryl buried his nose against that tender flesh and breathed his mate in.

Growing impatient, Rick's fingers made fast work of Daryl's belt buckle and the fastening on his pants. He shoved them and his underwear down just far enough to free his swelling cock and Rick's forehead clipped Daryl's chin painfully as he tried to look down.

"That's your uh, your knot, right?"

He could feel the heat of Rick's flush against his own too-hot skin and he nodded, groaning as Rick wrapped a hand around his cock.

Rick's fingers explored him. He stroked over glans slick with precome, teased a fingernail gently along a thick vein, and finally rubbed his thumb and forefinger over the heavy swelling of his slowly filling knot near the base.

Daryl moaned as he tried his best not to rut into that teasing grasp. Rick flashed him a horribly devilish smile.

"I want that in me. Not tonight—got no supplies up here and that's gonna take a _hell_ of a lot of lube—but soon. Very, very soon. Deal?"

Daryl gaped unbelievingly at him and Rick just grinned, capturing his mouth in another biting kiss as he unhooked his own belt and dealt with the button and zipper of his jeans, pushing them down.

Shifting his hips so their cocks lined up, he grabbed Daryl's wrist and licked a sloppy wet line across his palm before guiding it down to wrap around the both of them.

"C'mon."

Regaining a little of his control, Daryl smirked darkly and leaned in to nip his way along Rick's throat and jaw. He pressed his thumb hard against the slit in Rick's cock and purred at the sharp curse that spilled from his lips.

He caught Rick's swollen lips in another kiss as he finally began to move his fist over their precome and saliva-slick dicks. Slowly at first but quickly building a faster rhythm as Rick rocked his hips up to meet him and panted harshly into Daryl's mouth, babbling _fuck_ and _yes_ and _Daryl_ between breathless, biting kisses.

His teeth ached to sink deep into Rick's flesh, to mark him as his mate but he restrained himself for now, settling for just pressing his open mouth against Rick's sweaty neck and panting against his skin.

He would make that claim when he knotted him.

Rick surged up against him, eyes squeezed shut tight and spine bowing back as he came with choked off cry. The wet heat of it across Daryl's fist and the look of blissful agony on Rick's face was more than enough to send Daryl crashing into his own orgasm with a shuddering sob he muffled against Rick's chest.

While they caught their breath Daryl lapped at the sweat that had collected along Rick's collarbones and neck. A deep purring rumble of contentment vibrated in his throat and Rick chuckled, pulling him in for a lazy kiss.

A fierce possessiveness bloomed in Daryl's chest.

His own scent was smeared all over Rick and the combination of the two was the best damn thing he had ever smelled. Heat and spice and _home_.

Mate. Mine.

Still sprawled out heavily over Rick's panting form, Daryl untangled his hand from between them and brought it up to his mouth to lap at their combined come on his fingers.

He hadn't intended it as a seduction but Rick's breathless moan at the sight gave him ideas.

Moving slowly to give Rick a chance to say no, Daryl stroked the remaining spent on his fingers across Rick's parted lips before devouring them in a filthy kiss. And if the way Rick clawed his fingers into his hair and chased the taste of himself and Daryl with his tongue was any indication, he seemed to be just fine with the idea.

Once they broke apart, both glassy eyed and syrupy with too much whiskey and barely-sated lust, Daryl leaned low and began kissing and sucking his way down Rick's bare chest and belly. He scraped his teeth around Rick's navel before dipping his tongue into it, grinning when the ticklish sensation surprised a laugh out of Rick.

He hooked his fingers into the belt loops of Rick's still undone jeans and pulled them and his underwear down to about his mid-thigh. He nosed his way down through the trail of hair on his lower belly down to the dark curls around his cock. Rick shuddered under him.

"Just a reminder that not only am I not as young as I used to be but I am also drunk. So don't get your hopes up. Y'know, about anything _else_ getting up." Rick snickered and tangled his fingers in Daryl's hair again, spreading his legs as wide as they could go while still confined by his jeans.

Daryl smirked, settling himself between Rick's legs and dipping his head lower.

He had a little taste and now he wanted more.

The heady musk of Rick's renewed arousal was more intoxicating than any alcohol and Daryl was certainly drunk on the scent of his new mate. He nuzzled gently at his spent cock and Rick hissed softly at the stimulation but Daryl wasn't deterred. He stroked the length with lazy, tender laps of his tongue for a long while until he could feel the blood begin to pump into it again with each thud of Rick's pulse.

Rick writhed sinfully under him as he engulfed his half hard dick within the heat of his mouth.

"Fuck, Daryl. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_."

Rick was soon a trembling wreck beneath him, flanks twitching with the effort to not thrust up into that wet heat and Daryl just grinned at him before swallowing him down again, feeling pretty damn cocky over the sharp cry that slipped past Rick's lips.

He set a steady pace, bobbing his head and alternating between hard sucks and long teasing laps of his tongue.

Daryl was pretty fucking sure he could come just from listening to the desperate sounds Rick was making. He reached down with his free hand to grind his own erection against his palm for a little relief.

Rick saw him and attempted to reach out to lend a hand but Daryl just pinned him back down with an arm across his hips, growling possessively around the thick length cradled in his jaws and making Rick moan.

"Oh _fuck_ that's hot. Do it again."

Daryl chuckled and purred, the rumbling vibration of it making Rick shudder and moan even louder. He would have grinned if his mouth hadn't been otherwise occupied.

Releasing his hold on Rick's hips, Daryl skimmed his fingers down along his thighs and then back up while he sucked his dick. Warm fingers tugged gently at Rick's balls and a thumb stroked down the crease of his sac, trailing down and back to press at his perineum. Rick's cock twitched in his mouth at the added stimulation and he let it slide further down his throat, holding it there for a moment.

His eyes nearly rolled back far enough to see the back of his own skull when Rick curled his fingers around his throat, feeling himself held there. Even after Daryl pulled back to breathe, mouthing and suckling sweetly at the flushed head, Rick kept his hand on his neck. He stroked the hot skin there with firm rubs of his fingertips and then teasing caresses with his nails that had Daryl moaning obscenely around his dick.

Daryl had to release his cock for a moment, letting it slap wetly against Rick's belly so he could catch his breath. He rolled his hips, thrusting into his own fist with a choked off groan he smothered against Rick's hip.

Fucking erogenous zones getting him all distracted. But _oh Christ_ did that feel good.

Rick seemed to take notice and he re-doubled his efforts, dragging his fingertips up the nape of Daryl's neck slowly before scraping his nails back down again.

"_Shit_." Daryl hissed, pumping his fist faster over his own dick and amazed that he was actually about to come from this.

Then Rick leaned up and sank his teeth over his pounding pulse in a sharp, biting kiss.

Daryl cried out harshly as he came for the second time that night, come spilling over his fist and onto Rick's jeans.

He only took a moment to catch his breath, rolling his eyes at the _very_ self-satisfied smirk Rick directed his way, before pulling Rick's cock back into his mouth again. He bobbed his head and squeezed Rick's hip with one hand while he brought the other up to slide his fingers through some of the saliva that escaped the seal of his lips.

The next time he worked Rick deep into his throat he pressed a slick finger against Rick's hole, slipping in to nearly the second knuckle and Rick was done for.

Daryl swallowed him down, savoring his unique flavor and the bitter tang of it on his tongue.

_Mate. Mine._

He rubbed the smear of his come that landed on Rick's jeans into the denim despite Rick's groan of protest. A primal marking of his mate that made him want to puff his chest out with pride.

_My mate._

Both men sprawled bonelessly across the blanket and in Daryl's case, back on top of Rick.

Rick reached up to stroke some of his sweaty hair out of his eyes. He touched Daryl's red, swollen lips with his fingertips.

"You look obscene."

He snorted a laugh and rubbed his damp face against Rick's chest, heaving a heavy sigh of contentment. "Worth it."

Rick smirked up at him. "You're more of an overgrown tom cat than a big bad wolf, you know it?"

Daryl glared and bit down none too gently on a nipple peaked with chill. Rick cursed and swatted at him but Daryl was quick to soothe the hurt with a hot tongue and a slow grind of his hips.

"Oh Christ, you're ready to go _again_, aren't you? What have I gotten myself into?"

A low rumble vibrated in Daryl chest and he pressed a few kisses against Rick's sweaty skin. "I accept rainchecks."

Rick laughed and reached out to snag the whiskey bottle, taking a long swallow then offering it to Daryl who did the same. "Damn good thing."

He probably could have fallen asleep right then and there, fuzzy from alcohol and a fucking fantastic fuck and content in the knowledge that his new mate was safe by his side and smelled like him but then his human cushion started trembling beneath him. In silent laughter.

"What the hell?"

Rick grinned and scrubbed his sticky fingers up through Daryl's hair, startling an annoyed growl out of him. "That was good. Really, _really_ good."

Daryl hummed smugly and sprawled out even further over Rick's prone form, breathing in _their_ scent. "It gets better too."

Rick chuckled through a yawn and tangled their legs together. Daryl help right their clothing a bit and after he laid his poncho out over both of them they soon drifted off to sleep.

The temperature took a nose dive during the night and Daryl woke to Rick shivering under him. He considered rousing the other man (_matemate__**mine**_ his wolf brain reminded him proudly) and herding him back to their cell block but he decided on an alternative solution .

So when Rick woke a few hours later with an achey head and in serious need of a shower and some clean clothes he found himself wrapped up tight in an enormous furry pile of werewolf Daryl.

Rick grinned despite the bright dawn sunlight cutting into his head and reached out to stroke his fingers through the dark, thick fur along the nape of the wolf's neck. Daryl rumbled in his sleep and pressed his very cold and very wet nose in against Rick's throat.

He tried to squirm away from the ticklish sensation but huge paws around his waist locked him in place. So with a heavy sigh and a fond smile he leaned his head against the wolf's massive skull and drifted back to sleep.

_—_

_More Author's Notes: _

_Sooo. How do you guys feel about knotting? Because that's a thing. A thing that will very likely happen very soon in this fic._

_As always, thank you all so much for reading and for your wonderful comments! They mean a lot to me and I really appreciate it!_

_Hope you enjoyed reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

It was very late the next morning before Rick was finally able to untangle himself from the heavy, clinging limbs of the wolf he had woken up with. Every time he tried to pull away Daryl would lay more of his considerable weight on him and press his wet nose in against any bare skin he could find with a low whine.

Apparently the wolf liked to cuddle.

"Daryl, we gotta get up."

The wolf nipped at the ragged leather of Rick's unbuckled belt in protest and burrowed his snout up under the hem of Rick's shirt. He kept rooting around until his entire massive head was resting on Rick's torso. The shirt's buttons strained as they stretched tight over him and the fabric pressed his ears flat against his skull.

Rick laughed at Daryl's whiskers tickling his ribs and he sank his fingers into thick, dark fur.

"So you're hungover too, huh?"

A burst of hot, wet breath blew out over his chest as Daryl huffed a sigh. Tilting his head to the side, the wolf began rubbing the scent glands on his jaw over Rick's bare skin.

His instincts were screaming at him to _sleep_ and _rut_ and _bond_ with his new mate. _Bite him, mark him, breed him, claim him._

And as badly as he wanted to spend all day doing nothing but fucking and being fucked he knew they still had responsibilities.

They were alphas with pups and a large pack to tend to.

But Daryl was going to make damn sure his scent was smeared so thick over Rick before they left their little rooftop retreat that even the others with their dull human noses could smell their pair-bond.

_Mate. My mate._

Even after he pulled himself out from Rick's shirt Daryl kept rubbing his throat and muzzle against Rick, who laid still and let him work with a very fond and rather amused expression. He watched him with soft, hooded eyes.

Rick murmured quiet nonsense and tucked his nose against Daryl's neck to breathe in the rich, earthy scent of him. The wolf's chest vibrated with a content, purring rumble.

"Those pheromones of yours are making me feel like I've been drugged. S'kinda nice." A thick tail thumped happily against Rick's shins and he rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, you gotta cut it out though. We really need to get up. Need to check on the kids and we've got chores to do." He sighed into the wolf's neck, rubbing his fingers over one of the rough scars half-hidden under the dark fur along Daryl's shoulders.

Daryl grunted but raised up off Rick's prone form and stepped away. His claws clicked on the rooftop as he walked back to his pile of clothes and crossbow.

The change was at once gruesome and strangely beautiful. Shifting muscles and bones reformed themselves from wolf to man in only a few moments, leaving Daryl standing in the wolf's place. A fine tremor of the remaining adrenaline running through his system made him shudder.

Despite the heat his body radiated goosebumps still broke out over his bare skin when the cold morning air hit him. Daryl cursed and crouched to collect his clothes.

Rick cleared his throat. "That hurt?"

Daryl shrugged as he pulled his pants on. "Not really. Feels kinda like taking off clothes that are too tight. Or stretching out a bad cramp or somethin'."

He caught Rick's heated gaze as he was untangling his vest from his poncho and smirked at the other man's unashamed leering.

Not breaking eye contact, Rick got his feet under him and made his way to stand before Daryl. He slipped a hand past the waistband of his still undone pants to curve around a bare hip and pulled Daryl in for a slow, deep kiss.

After a long moment Rick pulled back with a parting bite to Daryl's lower lip. "What we did last night? We are definitely doing more of that tonight."

A low, growling purr rumbled out of Daryl's chest and he smirked at the groan that stuttered past Rick's lips as he groped at his ass, sliding past leather and denim to tease warm skin.

"Hmm, maybe sooner than tonight. But on a mattress this time. My back is killing me."

"You wait here 'n I'll bring one up. Then we'll be good to go." He dug his nails into the meat of Rick's ass cheek and bit at his bearded jaw. He grinned against Rick's throat at the sound of pleasure that came out of it.

"S'tempting. You have no idea how fucking tempting." He pressed his forehead against Daryl's and smiled.

With a parting kiss Rick stepped back and scooped up Daryl's shirts and poncho. Daryl reached out to take them but Rick just smirked and started rubbing the clothing against his neck, chest, and arms. At Daryl's questioning look he licked his lips.

"If I'm gonna smell like you then you are sure as hell gonna smell like me too. You aren't the only possessive one in this relationship."

"I'm yours and you are _mine_, Daryl Dixon." Rick grinned and Daryl's heart did a stupid little flippity thing as he was pulled in for another kiss.

Daryl skipped breakfast and spent the rest of the morning with Sasha and Glenn going over maps and old yellow page directories for local businesses to plan out a supply run for later in the week. Batteries, fuel, tools, and fencing materials were high on their priority list so they had a couple of salvage yards and hardware stores picked out to hunt through.

He was fighting a losing battle trying to keep his thoughts on the job at hand. A pounding headache that had slowly been building all morning had his head throbbing and a flush that started at the back of his neck and quickly spread through his blood was making him feel feverish.

He'd had a hell of a lot to drink last night on the roof with Rick but it still usually took a lot more than that to leave him feeling so shitty.

Damn apocalypse had turned him into a lightweight.

He was mostly useless in the route-planning and left the nitty gritty details of it to Sasha and Glenn. They were both pretty damn smart when it came to all that stuff anyway.

Neither of them were very good at being subtle though. They kept giving him odd looks and crinkling their noses as they tried to take covert sniffs of the air near Daryl when they thought he wouldn't notice.

What the hell was _that_ about anyway? Must be picking up on those pheromones Rick had mentioned earlier was the only thing he could figure.

After the fourth or fifth time they did it he snapped.

"We done here? I gotta take a piss." He growled, glaring at both of them.

Sasha started but was fast to recover. "Uh yeah, I guess so. We'll head out at dawn the day after tomorrow, alright?"

"Sounds peachy." He stood, shoving his chair against the table as he stomped towards the door. Until a hand touched his arm.

"Hey, Daryl?"

Glenn apparently had a death wish today.

"_What._"

It was a testament to how well they knew him that neither Glenn nor Sasha jumped at his gruff bark. Either that or he was losing his touch.

"Nothing. Just, ah. You okay? You don't look so good and uh, you _smell_ different."

"New soap," he grumbled over his shoulder as he stalked down the hallway.

Daryl was scheduled for watch late that afternoon for a few hours. His mood had gotten progressively worse as the day drew on, leading him to snap at anyone that came too close but he was actually looking forward to his shift in the guard tower. Just that one last thing before he could drag Rick off to his cell or better yet down to the generator room where they could have some honest to God _privacy_.

With a half hour or so to go before his shift he sat out under the half-finished pavilion they were building in the exercise yard. Carol had come by with a bowl of venison stew for him a few minutes earlier. She had gotten pretty good at reading his moods so she let him be, no joking or teasing today and instead finished cleaning up the cooking space before ushering the kids back inside for story time and leaving Daryl alone in the yard.

His nostrils flared as Rick's scent drifted through the air. He suppressed a shudder and turned to watch as Rick and Carl headed back down to the garden to finish up their work for the day.

The father and son—_my mate and my pup_ the wolf rumbled proudly—were loaded down with tools and buckets and they were both laughing happily, the sound carrying high and clear over the background noise of the ever-present crowd of walkers outside the fence.

Rick caught sight of Daryl as they walked through the gate to the field. He grinned brightly and nodded, his arms too full of supplies to wave.

Daryl returned the grin and the nod.

He watched Rick's hips roll with their easy cowboy swagger as he walked down the low incline to the field and garden. Rick's first stop was the small paddock next to the shed they built for Michonne's horse. He carried a bucket of feed out to their newest farm yard addition: the pig.

Daryl had found the animal a couple of weeks ago while out hunting. His first inclination had been to put an arrow through it but something about its scent made him stop. And when he finally hossed the stubborn thing back to the prison—it squealing and screaming nonstop and calling up a line of walkers to shuffle along behind them like the damn Pied Piper— Hershel had confirmed his suspicions. The massive old sow was pregnant.

Hogs breed faster than rabbits so with a little luck they would be up to their eyeballs in bacon soon.

Rick had been over the moon and took charge of caring for the sow himself.

Daryl gnawed on the inside of his cheek to keep the smile off his face.

Bringing gifts of meat to a potential mate was a timeless romantic gesture for werewolves.

Another scent caught his attention and reminded him that he was in a very bad mood and not interested in socializing—with anyone other than Rick at least. He chewed on a too-large mouthful of stew so he wouldn't have to greet Michonne as she sidled up next to him. She just grinned and flopped down on the bench beside him, setting her own bowl of stew and her leather saddlebag down on the table.

"_Finally_," she sighed in over-dramatic relief.

Daryl narrowed his eyes and Michonne chuckled.

"I was wondering when you two were going to jump each others' bones. Long overdue if you ask me."

Daryl groaned, reaching up to rub at his aching head.

Despite the pain behind his eyes he couldn't help but smirk. He glanced at Michonne from the corner of his eye. "That obvious, huh?"

She snorted around a mouthful of food and swatted at his shoulder. "Hah. _Hah_. Of course it is you smug mutt. I honestly don't see how anyone _couldn't_ smell you on each other. From a mile away."

He wouldn't have let Rick out of his sight any other way.

And apparently Rick was just as territorial as him. He tucked his nose against his shoulder and breathed in the warm, comforting scent of his mate in the fabric of his horse blanket poncho. Michonne rolled her eyes with a groan.

"Lovesick puppy is what you are."

Daryl grumbled and picked at his stew. He was not looking forward to some of the conversations that would be coming his way soon. He had avoided them so far but he knew his luck wouldn't hold forever. These people had become his pack. He had and would continue to kill to keep them safe but they did have a hell of a knack for sticking their damn noses where they didn't belong.

"So. Did you knot him?"

And here was one of those conversations right now.

"Fuck off, that _really_ ain't none of your business."

"Oh I'll take that as a no then. Poor puppy, no wonder you've been walking around all day like you got a kink in your tail."

Daryl growled and Michonne bared her sharp white teeth at him with a grin.

They had a brief stare down before Daryl relented and looked away with a dramatic huff. He felt like shit and all he wanted to do was curl up somewhere private and cozy with his mate. Last thing he wanted was to get in a tussle with Michonne right now.

She was just as much an alpha as he was. And she fought dirty.

"By the looks of you I think you two had better get down to business soon or you're gonna go into heat. You'll be humping the first convenient leg you encounter if you don't."

Daryl's stomach dropped.

_Oh_.

"I ain't gonna go into heat."

He was and he knew it.

No wonder his fucking head hurt.

He was such a dumbass.

"Well don't come crying to me when things don't work out between you and Hershel's prosthetic."

Daryl's expression was one of pure horror and Michonne laughed so hard so was afraid she'd pulled something.

"Oh _Christ_. I _ain't_ gonna go into heat. Rick ain't no werewolf."

Daryl was certainly no expert on werewolf reproduction and sexuality but he still knew better than that.

It had been years since he fucked anyone, human or werewolf. And that's all any of those had ever been—just fucks. He'd never knotted any of them. Never wanted to do anything that _intimate_ with anyone. Not before Rick anyway.

Now it was all he could think about and it was building a fever under his skin.

Rick wanted it too.

Daryl had never been in a heat, a rut before either. Like knotting, it was something that generally only happened once werewolves paired up. Helped strengthen their bond and bind them together as mates for life.

Werewolves that mated with humans didn't usually go into heat. Not unless their bond with their human partner was especially close. Those rare cases were when people usually started tossing around words like _soul mate_ and _meant to be_ and _fate_.

Pretty sappy shit.

But here he was, feeling wrecked as all hell and longing for the heat of his mate against him like a dying man in a desert craving water.

"It doesn't matter. You've got to fuck or be fucked or you are going into a heat, plain and simple. And you can try and fool the others but I can already _smell_ it on you, dear."

He was so fucked.

Daryl slumped, defeated.

"_Fuck_."

"Mmhmm, that's my prescription for what ails ya. You'll be right as rain as soon as you do."

She was too damn chipper today for his liking.

"Voice of experience, are ya?"

"Hell no. I've had plenty of lovers but never a mate. I've got a lot more sense than you do." She winked and Daryl rolled his eyes and growled in annoyance.

"Alright, alright, truce, yeah? To reward you for being such a good sport I'm gonna offer to take over your shift on watch this afternoon so you can go get your freak on." She smiled, finishing her stew in a few fast bites.

Daryl raised an eyebrow, watching her with uncertainty. "Why?"

She shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a romantic at heart. And you sure as hell aren't going to be any good for standing guard in a few hours if you are this bad already."

Daryl gnawed on a fingernail and nodded. He caught her gaze again and held it for a moment. "Thank you."

Michonne was the first to look away this time, smiling fondly as she looked across the field to where Rick and Carl were working in the garden.

"You take care of him or I'll kick your ass, got it?"

"Yes ma'am." He slid his half-finished bowl of stew towards her and chuckled at the appreciative sound she made before dipping her spoon into it.

She may have been a werewolf but she ate more like her horse.

Daryl stood and swung his leg over the bench, scooping up his crossbow as he turned to head back inside C-Block. Michonne whistled behind him.

"Oh! Hey, come back here! I almost forgot. Got ya a present." She groped around inside the saddle bag before pulling out a brown paper sack and tossing it to him.

"What's this?" He prodded the bag suspiciously.

"Think of it as a 'congrats on finally fucking your crush' present. And since I've been in close quarters with you before trust me when I say that Rick will be grateful for it too." She grinned and watched him with bright eyes as he very cautiously opened the bag.

"Oh hah-fuckin'-hah."

Michonne cackled as he held up the flea collar. She laughed even harder when he threw it at her head until she realized it had ricochetted and landed in her stew. "Aw _damn_!"

"Yeah, serves ya right you damn loon. You think you're really funny don't ya?"

"Oh I _know_ I'm funny. It's not my fault you have lousy taste. And hygiene. Now go on and get ready for your mate. I'll keep an eye on your pups and the pack for the night."

Daryl nodded and thanked her again. He settled his crossbow on his shoulder and headed back inside. He had a few things to round up before Rick came back in for the night.

And a mattress to drag down to the generator room.

_Author's Notes: More smut and knotting in the next chapter! Thank you for reading and for all of the kind reviews! I really appreciate it. You guys keep me inspired! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Notes: Werewolf sexy times with knotting and a tiny dash of biting. Enjoy!_

_—_

Daryl hadn't been able to stop himself at just the mattress.

After hauling the unwieldy thing down to the generator room he decided more was required to make the space into a suitable den.

He balled up all of the blankets and pillows from the bunks in his cell and carried them down to the generator room to join the mattress. But when that still wasn't enough to suit his nesting instinct he slipped into one of their supply rooms to collect whatever he could find there.

He grabbed a duffle bag from a selection of spare packs and bags hanging on the wall and stuffed a thick down comforter and some sad, thin pillows into it. He also took a battery-operated lantern and some candles.

And that's when the food caught his eye.

They had been using this large room to store most of their surplus food, gear, and toiletries. Nearly every time they left the prison on a run they came back loaded down with boxes and crates and sacks full of whatever useful goods they could collect. Most of the stuff not immediately put to use ended up here.

High metal shelves filled the room and were lined with canned goods, glass mason jars of home-canned food, sacks and bags of dried goods, and quite a few stacks of random junk food that had been picked up along the way. The majority of the junk food was out of date but most of the shit had enough preservatives in it to last long past the end of the world.

Daryl grabbed another bag and snatched up a couple boxes of crackers, dried fruit, some jerky, a few bottles of water, and several chocolate bars. About half of the chocolate bars actually.

And the last package of Oreos.

Most werewolves suffered from a horrible sweet tooth.

Michonne was going to _gut_ him.

But he really didn't care right now. This was for Rick. For his mate. The wolf wanted to prove to him was a good partner he would be, providing him with food and water and comfortable shelter for their bonding rut.

Speaking of fucking, that reminded him…

He sidled up next to the shelves containing toiletries and extra first aid supplies. His nose wrinkled at the sharp chemical smells of many of the products as he looked through the collection of odds and ends.

Antiseptic creams, bottles of hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, and iodine, gauze, latex gloves, braces and bandages, and expired over-the-counter pain and cold meds (Hershel and Dr. S. wisely kept the good stuff locked away) lined one wide shelf. Another shelf had too-fragrant soaps, shampoos, deodorants, razors, and toothpaste. Another still had some extra baby stuff, feminine hygiene products, condoms—the wolf was having _none_ of that but Daryl pocketed a couple of the foil packets just in case Rick wanted to use them—and then Daryl finally found what he was looking for in their mess of a makeshift drugstore.

Carol cleared her throat behind him just as his hand landed on the biggest bottle of lube on the shelf.

_Shit_.

He hadn't heard her, hadn't even smelled her familiar scent of warm cotton, lavender, and concealed steel as she snuck up behind him. His senses were a complete wreck.

Hell, _he_ was a complete wreck.

He might have been embarrassed if hadn't been too damn horny to care about much else in the world right then. At least he did have enough sense about him to make sure the duffel bag was covering the stiffy he'd been sporting since he started working on the den.

Damn heat was leaving him _debauched_.

Carol's eyes were bright with mischief as she smiled at him.

"So, big plans for tonight?"

Daryl growled miserably and pressed his forehead against the cool metal edge of the shelf with a dull thud. Carol's grin faded to a concerned but fond look.

"Michonne told me. You two take all the time you need, yeah? Everyone's settled and happy and we have plenty of food and supplies for a long while. I'll take care of Judith and keep an eye on Carl."

He felt like he only heard half of what she was saying, his pulse pounding his ears and the fever of the heat in his blood making him damn near dim-witted. But he nodded and thanked her—at least he was _pretty_ sure that he thanked her and didn't accidentally agree to her request for explicit details next time she saw him—and finished stuffing the duffel bag with whatever useful goods caught his eye after Carol left.

After dropping off the bags in the generator room and piling up the blankets, pillows, and towels he'd collected onto the mattress Daryl went to wait for Rick in his cell.

An hour slowly crept passed. Shadows cast by the setting sun through the small windows in C-Block grew longer and longer until they bled into the approaching darkness of night.

And in that time Daryl became a hormonal disaster.

He'd paced Rick's cell, sat on the bunk for a while, tried reading a couple of the books on the nightstand, and then the wolf and the heat took over.

Daryl rubbed his wrists and the palms of his hands over nearly every square inch of the cell and Rick's belongings to smear his scent on it all. The air in the room grew thick and heavy with the scent of his musk.

His skin was too tight, his blood was too hot, and his head was slowly being taken over by instinct and need.

He sat on Rick's bunk, had his belt undone, his pants unzipped, and a hand around his swollen dick before he even realized what he was doing.

A too-loud moan snapped Daryl back into a moment of clarity, stopping him from rolling his hips up to meet the next pump of his fist.

The moan hadn't come from him.

A wall of lust crashed into him along with the scent of his mate right-fucking-_there_.

Rick stood in the doorway of the now dark cell, too-loose jeans hanging low on his hips, chest bare, and a towel slung around his neck to catch the droplets of water still rolling down the ends of his shower-wet hair.

Daryl's fist tightened around his dick, already on edge, already needing to come _now_ with his mate's scent filling his lungs.

A moan of his own slipped through Daryl's clenched teeth as Rick crossed the room to drop down to his knees on the floor in front of him, between his splayed thighs.

Rick's warm fingers tangled with his own around his flushed cock, pushing them away so he could stroke the slowly filling knot and Daryl shuddered.

"You're in heat, yeah? So you'll be coming quite a few times tonight, won't you?"

His fist gripped Daryl's knot in a hold that should have been painfully tight but instead felt like fucking perfection. He couldn't help the high whine it pulled from his throat.

"Yeah. Shit, yeah. Rick, _please_." He panted, trying to fuck up into Rick's grip but a heavy forearm shoved his hips back down against the bunk. So he grabbed Rick's bare shoulders in desperation instead.

"Let's take the edge off then." Rick purred against his belly before swallowing his cock down.

Daryl jolted like the current from a live wire touched him. He fucking wailed and scraped his nails across Rick's shoulders as he came as soon as the heat of that gorgeous mouth sank down over him.

Rick made a surprised sound but swallowed every drop of him down, looking up at Daryl from under dark lashes with bright, devious eyes.

After mouthing sweetly at him for a few moments longer Rick released his dick and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. An eyebrow arched when he noticed Daryl's still swollen dick and knot showed no sign of softening.

Daryl groaned up at the bunk above him. "How did you know I was in heat? Michonne goin' around tellin' everyone?"

Rick chuckled and stroked his tongue up the thick vein curling around Daryl's cock. "Nope."

"Then how-" he shuddered at the sucking kiss placed on his knot.

"It's pretty obvious, darlin'. But werewolf heat stamina was always popular locker room conversation. And I've jerked off to more than my fair share of porn too. _Lusty Lunar Lycanthropes_ was a personal favorite." He grinned at Daryl's groan of laughter and lapped at the slick head of his cock.

Daryl growled loudly at his mate's teasing touch and did his best not to buck his hips up for more.

Rick had been right. The orgasm was a brief relief to the burning fire of the heat lust that was consuming him. But he needed more. _Now_.

Rising to his feet and pulling Rick up alongside him, Daryl pulled him in for a deep kiss that flooded his taste buds with the rich flavor of his mate and his own come still lingering on Rick's probing tongue.

When they broke apart for a breath Daryl nuzzled at Rick's jaw. "Come on. Got somethin' to show ya."

Daryl dragged his mate through the dark hallways that led down to the generator room, the going made glacially slow because he couldn't keep his mouth or hands off of Rick. And Rick seemed to be in a similar state, clawing and yanking at Daryl's clothes as they went.

Once they finally made it to the room Rick stopped shoving at Daryl's half-unbuttoned and half-unzipped clothes long enough to look around the room. The candles Daryl lit earlier had burned down low but still cast a warm glow across the cold concrete walls and floors. And tucked away in one corner was a full mattress, thicker than most of the smaller twin mattresses in the cells. Blankets and pillows covered it, some spilling off onto the floor and the shelves near by had all sorts of food stuffs Daryl had pilfered from the supply room.

Daryl had claimed this space for them. Even his less sensitive nose could tell that Daryl's scent was heavy on the air down here.

"You made us a pillow fort."

Daryl snorted, nose crinkling as he rocked his hips against Rick's and rubbed his fingers across the gunshot scar over Rick's ribs. "It's a _den_."

"Looks more like a pillow fort. Or a love nest." He teased, grinning at Daryl's flustered growl.

Rick chuckled and bit at Daryl's neck, making him moan like a desperate creature.

"It's perfect."

The rest of their clothing was soon scattered across the room, leaving a trail from the door to the makeshift bed. It was far from the first time that they had seen each other naked but this was _miles_ away from freezing baths in creeks and changing filthy clothes in cramped quarters while on the run.

No this was so much better because now they could reach out and _touch_.

They damn near tackled each other into the mattress.

After long minutes of sloppy kisses and bold fingers Rick grabbed one of Daryl's hands and guided it down between his legs, past his straining cock and heavy sac and _back_.

"I started without you in the shower." He breathed into Daryl's ear, teeth scraping the delicate cartilage and grinning at the sound Daryl made when his calloused fingers stroked over Rick's stretched hole.

Both men groaned as Daryl pressed two fingers in easily.

"Fuck."

Rick sprawled back out across the mattress, pale eyes dark and hooded while he watched Daryl trembling between his legs. Daryl grabbed the bottle of lube out of his pack. He then ducked down to suck bruises into Rick's inner thighs as he pulled his fingers out to pour more lube over them before pushing three back into Rick's hole, curling them towards his prostate and making Rick suck in a sharp breath.

"_Fuck_, you're good at that. C'mon, more."

Daryl was happy to oblige, loving the feel of the tight heat of his mate clenching around his fingers. Especially when he leaned forward to pull Rick's cock into his mouth.

He worked Rick right up to the edge, sucking hard and fucking him open wide with slick fingers until Rick shuddered and pressed the heel of his foot against Daryl's shoulder.

"Shit! Stop or I'll be done for."

Daryl nodded, pulling off Rick's cock with a loud sucking _pop_ and easing his fingers out of the other man. He sat back on his knees and reached for his pants on the floor beside them, digging around in the pockets until he pulled out a foil-wrapped condom. He held it up for Rick to see.

"I got these. In case you wanted me to—"

"Don't need 'em. I'm clean and I ain't planning to ever fuck anyone else after this. You sure as hell better not either." He teased, leaned up to scrape his teeth against Daryl's throat.

The attention paid to the sensitive flesh of his neck made Daryl's dick twitch.

Rick noticed and hummed approvingly.

Rick grabbed up the bottle of slick, poured some into his hand and reached down to stroke Daryl's leaking cock. Once satisfied and grinning at Daryl's breathless moans, he turned to brace himself on his hands and knees.

The sight of Rick in that primal position was almost enough to make Daryl come then and there, untouched.

The wolf rumbled with hunger as he draped himself over his mate. One hand wrapped tightly around Rick's chest while the other reached down to guide his cock between his cheeks.

The heat was threatening to engulf him again, mind fuzzy with the lust overtaking his senses and Daryl paused to take a deep breath and ground himself, pressing his forehead against Rick's spine.

"Tell me if I need to stop. _Please_ tell me. I ain't hurting you, Rick. Christ I'd never be able to do that-" he babbled against Rick's bare shoulder, licking and dragging sharp teeth along the hot, sweaty skin.

Rick moaned and arched his spine to press his ass snug against Daryl's groin.

"You ain't gonna hurt me. Come on, darlin'. Fuck me now. I'm yours."

Daryl nodded. He took another steady breath of his mate's scent and began easing into him, unable to look away from the sight of Rick's flushed flesh opening up so readily and taking him in.

_My mate_.

Rick's head hung down between his shoulders as Daryl filled him up.

Together they set an easy, toe-curling pace. Daryl watched the twitch and roll of Rick's hips closely and took his cues where to aim for his prostate.

He knew he was on the right track when his mate cried out and slapped a hand back to grope at Daryl's ass, pulling him closer and making his knot press right up against him, stretching Rick wide open.

His mate was loud and shameless and demanding as he writhed on his cock and Daryl had never been more turned on in his life.

"Which one of us is in heat again?" He purred against Rick's ear.

Rick growled and clenched down on Daryl's length, surprising a groan out of him.

"Come on, get it in me. Want to feel you, all of you." A high moan cut his words off as Daryl reached down and slipped a finger into Rick's tight heat alongside his cock.

"Oh _fuck!_" Rick shuddered, trying to relax against the stretch. Daryl's hips kept moving but much slower now as he prepared his mate for the knot.

The muscles in Rick's back and flanks twitched and trembled and Daryl pressed close to roll his tongue against the knobs of Rick's vertebrae. He crooned nonsense against flushed skin and used his free hand to pour more lube over his cock and other hand. Slowly, infinitely slowly and carefully he easy a second finger into Rick's already stretched tight hole.

His mate tossed his head and exhaled with curse.

He kept the rocking of his hips slow and easy as he continued to stretch Rick open. The other man babbled and growled into the pillow below him and once Daryl had three fingers fucking in alongside his cock Rick reached back to claw his fingers into Daryl's thigh.

"That's enough. Now, now, come on."

"You sure?" He rasped softly, teasing his little finger in as well and grinning at Rick's desperate groan.

"Yeah and I'll kick your ass if you don't get it in me now."

"Be nice." Daryl growled, pressing his teeth hard against Rick's shoulder and shuddering at just how badly he wanted to break the skin.

As he began easing the swollen flesh of his heavy knot into his mate Rick's arms gave out and his torso dropped forward to rest on his forearms. The curve of his back was gorgeous and Daryl followed him down, his chest pressed tight against Rick's spine. He sucked and bit kisses into Rick's flushed skin as he rocked into him, slick fingers still pumping Rick's leaking cock as he pushed further and further into him.

And then, heat consumed him. _All_ of him. And it was the best fucking thing he'd ever felt in his life.

If the way Rick's cock jumped in his hand and the high groan that slipped past his mate's panting lips were anything to go on then Rick thought it felt pretty good too.

"Alright?" He gasped against Rick's temple, trying his best to hold still to let the other man adjust.

A violent shiver shook Rick's body but he nodded. "Hah, yeah, oh _goddamn_ that's a _lot_. Just give me a second."

Daryl forced himself to remain motionless except for the nipping bites he pressed into Rick's neck and the hand that kept stroking and teasing Rick's cock.

Enough time passed that Daryl was sure he was going to explode if he didn't move soon but then Rick tightened around him and began rocking back against him, cursing and praising the near overwhelming sensations that were leaving him a wrecked mess.

Daryl growled and thrust his hips harder, unable to move very far now that they were locked together but he kept grinding forward to keep pressure on Ricks' prostate.

Beneath him Rick was a creature of gorgeous, wild abandon. He shoved back against Daryl, meeting each grind and roll of his hips and clenching tight as a vice around the knot tying them together.

Daryl was on the edge, stalled right at the precipice and as he licked and sucked and nipped desperately at Rick's neck with a fierce longing need Rick tilted his head back to bare his throat in a primal offering.

_Yours_.

_Mine._

Daryl couldn't hold back any longer.

Sharp teeth sank into the tender meat where neck and shoulder met and Daryl came with ragged howl muffled by his mate's blood and flesh. Over the roar of his own pulse pounding in his ears he heard Rick cry out loudly, shouting his name and he felt the wet heat of his mate's release on his fingers.

They held frozen in place for long moments, each man's muscles twitching and trembling as they panted for breath. Daryl licked his mate's blood from his lips and rolled his tongue gently over the bite mark on Rick's skin. He felt a twinge of guilt but then Rick hummed in contentment and smiled over his shoulder at Daryl as he reached back to touch the damaged skin with his fingertips.

"I like the idea of wearing your mark."

Daryl was _so_ fucking in love.

Finally releasing the death grip he had on Rick's hip, Daryl slid his hand up his mate's chest to hold him close as he eased them down onto the mattress and pillows to lay on their sides. Rick choked on a moan as the new position shifted the thick knot deeper inside him, keeping Daryl's cock pressed snug up against his prostate.

"_Shit_." He hissed, one hand flying down to clench against Daryl's thigh.

"Okay?" Daryl breathed into Rick's ear, nuzzling gently at his mate's skull.

Rick nodded, breathing through another wave of pleasure intense enough to pass as pain as he squirmed on the heavy cock stretching him until the pressure on his prostate let up just enough to return to this side of comfortable post-coital pleasure.

"Considering I'm pretty sure that I just came so hard that I blacked out for a minute yeah, I think I'm more than okay."

Daryl grinned and lifted his hand up to his lips, cleaning Rick's come off his fingers with his tongue. Rick watched him from the corner of his eye and made a soft sound at the sight.

Daryl was drunk on endorphins and pheromones and the heavy heat of his mate in his arms. He felt like a giddy school girl and was trying very hard to not make a damn fool of himself.

But he couldn't help covering every bit of his mate that was within reach with lazy kisses and licks. One arm was folded under Rick's head to support his neck and his other hand stroked up and down Rick's belly and ribs, teasing his nipples with blunt fingernails.

"You _smell_ like me." He purred roughly into Rick's throat as he nuzzled the bite he'd marked his mate with.

Rick chuckled at the amorous werewolf curled around him and rumbling like an overgrown cat.

"I like your face." Daryl added and pressed a biting kiss against Rick's cheek, then another to his bearded jaw. "I like your beard too."

Rick laughed tiredly and let himself be ravaged. "Glad I let it grow out. I can tell I'm gonna need it in self preservation against beard burn from a certain horny werewolf."

Daryl snorted and leaned down to rub his own facial scruff against the sensitive skin where Rick's neck met his shoulder.

"Can't grow a beard here."

Rick growled and reached back to grab Daryl by his jaw, craning his neck back to steal a kiss.

Once they broke apart for a breath Rick shifted his hips experimentally, feeling out the thick cock that had him stretched so full. His own dick was beginning to soften but Daryl's was still as hard as it had been half an hour ago. He could feel Daryl's strong pulse pounding in the heat of him. It was a strange but not unpleasant sensation. He arched his spine and rolled his hips back, clenching down to savor the fullness and Daryl's reaction was _electric_.

A high moan was startled out of him and he sank his teeth back into Rick's neck as a second orgasm rocked him and had him rolling his hips in desperate little motions against his mate.

When he caught his breath again he rasped out against Rick's ear. "The _fuck_ was that about? _Christ_."

"You'll probably have a couple more before the knot goes down. I'm gonna milk you dry," he teased, grinding back against him again.

Daryl groaned and buried his face against Rick's sweaty shoulder as he grabbed his waist to hold him still. "How the hell do you know more about this than me?"

Rick chuckled and craned his neck back to steal a kiss at an awkward angle. "I told you already. I'm a dirty old man that's into werewolves."

A smirked was pressed against Rick's skin as Daryl nibbled along his deltoid.

"This werewolf is _very_ in to you." He added with a wiggle of his hips and snickered as Rick moaned and reached back to slap him on the ass.

"Good to know I'm not the only deviant in this relationship."

Daryl sucked a bruising kiss into the nape of Rick's neck and reached out to snag the heavy down comforter from the floor to spread it out over top them.

From what very little he knew about the whole thing Daryl figured it would be close to half an hour before the knot went down enough for them to separate. That's why his nesting instinct had been so all-consuming earlier; in ages past when the world was full of predators looking for easy meals, mates in heat needed safe places to stay while tied together for so long.

An instinct for over-protectiveness that came in pretty damn handy now that the world had reverted to more primitive ways again. Survival of the fittest.

He reached down to gently stroke his fingers over Rick's flesh stretched tight around him. Both men groaned at the sensation.

_Mine._

The wolf rumbled loudly with pride at his own virility and that of his new mate.

Daryl had proven himself to his mate. Had knotted him, bred him, _claimed him_. They would rule the pack from now on as bonded alphas, a powerful and dangerous force to be reckoned with. Survival of the fittest for fucking sure.

Daryl purred in smug contentment and tightened his arms around his pliant mate, nuzzling and mouthing at the angry red mark on his neck. Rick shuddered and reached out to wrap his hand around the wrist Daryl had curled over his chest.

"Just so you know, if I can ever get my dick up again I'm gonna return the favor. Fuck you till you can't remember anything but my name and how badly you need to come. I ain't got a knot but I know can still make you scream, _Mate_." He grinned darkly at Daryl over his shoulder and drew Daryl's hand up to his mouth to suck and lick at his sticky fingers. Rick's other hand reached back to stroke over the sensitive skin of Daryl's neck with the blunt tips of his fingernails.

Daryl groaned loudly as another aftershock rocked him, pulling yet another albeit slightly weaker orgasm out of him and pumping more of his seed into Rick.

"Fuck, yes. I'm _yours._"

—

_More Author's Notes: Hope it was worth the wait! I love hearing from you guys so let me know if you enjoyed it. :) More to come one of these days!_


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